Canadian interest in a vanishing rural civilization before the First War was epitomized in the Agricultural Instruction Act of 1913. Encouraging agricultural education, the Act provided funds, expertise, and national determination in the quest to regenerate the rural areas. In British Columbia the Federal and Provincial Departments of Agriculture, the University, and the schools all offered agricultural education. Spurred by the Act, the schools in particular rode a tide of increasing influence as the key educative institution in society. The programme in British Columbian schools, established by J.W. Gibson, was unique in Canada for its "district supervisors" appointed to rural municipalities as beacons of light and missionaries to the hinterlands. Gibson's programme focussed upon school grounds beautification, school gardening, and livestock. At first the most important concern was gardening. The long drought, summer care difficulties, frost, marketing problems, marauding, vandalism and infestations of mice and cut worms all weakened the gardening mission by 1920. Skilfully the supervisors reshaped the gardening reality into a more viable livestock mission. Featuring agricultural clubs, school fairs, and the Coast exhibitions, the new activity also provided opposition to pre-established interests and other expanding agencies of agricultural education. When the Agricultural Instruction Act was discontinued, the fate of the work fell to the province. Unhappily, economic depression and the costly failure of agriculture and rural settlement strained educational finance. Even before the province withdrew support, however, the school's regenerative mission was faltering. The failure of agricultural education was related to what other educational institutions were doing, to the characteristics of teachers, to the social class views of parents and children, to economic conditions, and to the ability of the populace to finance the innovation. Moreover, at the heart of Gibson's mission lay a myth of the land. Gibson's fixation on the character immanent in the soil and his opposition to vocationalism meant that schools could not concern themselves with the practicality of revitalizing rural life. Clearly the solution to the hydra-headed rural problem was more than the school could accomplish. By 1929 the school had actually worsened the rural problem by facilitating the movement from the land. As the school became increasingly important in promoting middle class respectability, upward mobility, and professional orientation, there was increasing public awareness of a hierarchy of occupations at the bottom of which lay farming. The disappearance of district supervisors, school gardening, and Gibson's high school programme signalled a new, educational configuration in the province. Halted in a relentless process of assuming more and more educative functions of society, the school withdrew and dealt more exclusively with what had always been a primary focus--academic knowledge for professional preparation. If Gibson's programme failed, it offered important commentary on the nature and purpose of Canadian schooling. Recent Canadian educational historiography has neglected the history of teachers and teaching, and a number of radical historians have stressed social control as the fundamental purpose of schooling. Contrasting with their emphasis on the malignant influences of social class, racism, sexism, bureaucracy, and the failure of the schools to achieve equal opportunity, the experience of Gibson and his missionaries stressed the constructive purpose of schooling, the delight in learning, the often enthusiastic interchange between teacher and pupil, and the concept of growth. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Previous research has demonstrated that students from some visible ethnic minority groups may be discriminated against by teachers and policies of many school systems. This research has reviewed evidence indicating how Black, Mexican-American and Native Indian students are accorded differential treatment by teachers. Some of the research has shown how students from some cultural minority groups are at greater risk of being inappropriately referred or placed in special classes. This form of ethnic discrimination can be harmful to those cultural minority children who are removed from the regular class setting. This problem has not been adequately researched in Canada. Through the use of a researcher designed questionnaire, this thesis has reviewed teacher bias toward visible ethnic minority groups in special education referrals. The questionnaire consisted of nine questions regarding respondent characteristics, a fictitious case history of a grade five male student described as having some academic and behaviour problems, and nine response items regarding educational placement. The questionnaires were identical except for the brief reference to the ethnicity of the child described in the case study. The child was described as either Native Indian, Oriental, East Indian or Caucasian. A Likert-type scale was used for the subjects to rate agreement or disagreement to the nine items. Questionnaires were sent to 591 Vancouver public elementary school teachers within 29 randomly selected elementary schools. Questionnaires were returned from 396 subjects. Some questionnaires were returned blank or incomplete, therefore, data analysis was performed on the responses of 347 subjects (58.54% of all the teachers who received the questionnaires). This sample represented about 20% of the population of Vancouver public elementary school teachers. The results provided evidence of teacher discrimination against the child described as Native Indian. In addition, a positive bias was observed in the teacher responses for the Caucasian child and especially for the Oriental child. The teacher's responses to the questionnaire items revealed that the child described as Native Indian tended to be rated as being more suitable for placement in a special class for behaviourally disordered, would not be as likely to graduate from high school and had parents who would not be as cooperative. Female teachers were more likely to refer the child to a class for behaviourally disordered children and less likely to expect cooperation from the child's parents, than male teachers. Teachers who taught for 21 years or longer were more likely to consider the child in the case study as being a detriment to the education of the other children. Teachers who spoke English as second language were more likely to refer the child to a class for slow learners and expect greater cooperation from the child's parents, than teachers who spoke English as their first language. In addition, Special education teachers, teachers more familiar with special education programs and teachers who had university credits in special education, rated the children in a significantly more optimistic manner than regular teachers. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The object of this study is to evaluate the aims of education in a liberal democratic society in terms of an ethical theory which is compatible with the basic philosophy which inspires that society. Evidence is given to show that British Columbia is a liberal democratic society in the sense that it is composed of a number of social groups which hold different systems of values, and because it exhibits a primary concept of widespread concern for the value of individual and group freedom in any issues which do not directly involve the safety of the state. Further evidence is given to show that such a society operates on the practical basis that values are relative rather than absolute. The study thus proposes a philosophical system known as the emotive theory of ethics as the best means of justifying such relativity and of supplying a method of reaching agreement when disputes between different value systems arise. Finally it is shown that official statements of the aims of the educational system of British Columbia are vague and lacking in logical coherence, mainly because they are based upon a theoretical acceptance of the concept of absolute values which is impractical among the multitude of groups which comprise the society. Therefore, since there is a lack of agreement upon the ends and means of moral education, recent official pronouncements have tended to avoid specific mention of moral education and replace it by intellectual education as the prime aim of the educational system. The study concludes with the suggestion that, in a society where values are to all practical purposes relative to individuals and groups, formal training in the nature of morals is essential to national survival. It further suggests that such training might best follow the direction given by the emotive theory of ethics, since this theory provides the most satisfactory explanation of relative values. Suggestions are also made concerning the means of including formal moral training in the present curriculum without undue disruption. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe certain socioeconomic and socio-psychological characteristics which differentiate the Indian adult education participant from the non-participant, and which collectively contribute to an understanding of Indian adult education participation. The study was conducted on the Mount Currie Indian Reserve in the Pemberton Valley of British Columbia, The analytical survey method was used and data was collected by means of structured interviews with a random sample of eighty-six adult band members. Two hypotheses were tested to determine whether or not there were any statistically significant differences between adult education participants and non-participants with respect to seventeen socio-economic and thirteen socio-psychological variable characteristics. A third hypothesis was tested to determine whether or not there were any significant differences between the variables studied when they were considered simultaneously or independently as predictors of participation. Of the eighty-six respondents, fourty-two had enrolled in an adult education class during the preceding three years and were classed as participants. Statistically significant differences were found between the participants and non-participants with respect to eight of the socio-economic characteristics studied including sex, wish for further adult education participation, social participation, occupational prestige of desired job, occupational prestige of desired vocational training, receipt of educational assistance, receipt of unemployment insurance assistance, and total annual income. Of the socio-psychological characteristics studied, statistically significant differences were found between the participant's and non-participant's levels of alienation, activism, trust, family integration, and attitudes towards education. The most powerful single predictor of participation was found to be alienation, with the least alienated being those most likely to participate. However, five other variables including total annual income, number of children, social participation, trust and integration with relatives when considered simultaneously were found to be more powerful as joint predictors of participation than any single independent variable. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The Technical Fisheries Short Course has been administered by the Department of Extension at The University of British Columbia for fifteen years with funds provided by the federal government. The content of this three-week adult education program for commercial fishermen is designed with emphasis on the scientific rather than vocational aspects of fisheries. It was the purpose of this study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Short Course in terms of new knowledge acquired and attitudes which were modified during the time it was offered. The study population consisted of 117 fishermen composed of 22 students of the 1969 Class (Group I); 40 non-students (Group II); and 55 former students (Group III). Data for Group I was collected by the use of six objective instruments and one subjective discussion session. Two of these, a knowledge-attitude test and a socio-economic instrument, were used to collect data for the other two Groups. Knowledge acquisition and attitude change for Group I was measured by administering the knowledge-attitude test in the pre and post situations. It was shown that learning did occur as average knowledge scores improved from 18.0 in the pre-test to 31.0 in the post-test out of a possible total of fifty. Although there were sixty-seven individual attitude changes to eight statements concerning governmental bodies, the overall Class attitude score remained virtually unchanged at 22.2 in the post-test from 22.4 in the pre-test out of a total of forty. By means of multiple stepwise regression it was shown that 30% of post-knowledge was dependent on pre-knowledge. By logic it is assumed that some of the remaining 70% was due, directly or indirectly, to exposure to the educational experience. Analysis of variance tests with socio-economic data provided some statistically significant results, but because of only one or two replies in the categories causing the significance these are not reported and further studies with larger populations are indicated. Group I fishermen showed a preference for vocationally-oriented subjects (unlike previous classes), but at the same time indicated an interest in and understanding of academic and research oriented content. In terms of interest and value ratings of the subjects offered the program content met the needs of the participants and they believed that what they had learned would help them to increase their financial returns from fishing. The results indicate the need for establishing instructional objectives and providing guidance to some instructors on teaching techniques. Other results based on the study are that consideration should be given to scheduling the program earlier in the year and that more advance publicity about the Short Course is required. The knowledge-attitude test and the socio-economic Instrument were also administered to Groups II and III (non-students and former students). As most of the Group I fishermen came from metropolitan areas in the lower mainland and on Vancouver Island an attempt was made to determine if the knowledge and attitude they possessed were representative of these factors for fishermen from metropolitan areas in general (Group II). Within the limitations of the study it was found that Group I knowledge was similar to that of Group II as determined by average group scores. On the same basis Group I attitude differed significantly at p.05 from that of Group II. Analysis of the data from the knowledge-attitude test and socioeconomic Instrument showed that Group I fishermen were more representative of Group III fishermen (former students) than they were of Group II fishermen (non-students). It was also determined that no significant difference existed between the knowledge scores of former students and post-test knowledge scores of Group I. This suggests a retention factor and reveals an area for further research. It was concluded on the basis of the factors studied that the 1969 Short Course was a success. The results indicate that certain modifications in content, instruction and format would have enhanced its effectiveness. The study also confirmed the difficulties faced by an adult education program administrator in concurrently conducting evaluative research. While the collection of evaluative data can be accomplished with comparative ease its interpretation and presentation becomes a problem in terms of the time and expense involved, a problem which can only be corrected by the provision of research funds. Other implications for research are a study of the application by students of knowledge gained at the Short Course and a study of the attitudes held by fishermen toward government regulatory agencies. Repeated evaluative studies of the Short Course using the same instruments established for this study are recommended. Communications research to determine if the program is influencing a much wider population than the fishermen who attend is also suggested. This empirical study provides a benchmark on which the research suggested can be built. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Correspondence courses for credit were first offered at the University of British Columbia in 1949. Since that time there does not appear to have been any type of survey or evaluation made of the service. The present study was undertaken to provide information about the service as it now operates and to form the basis for further studies where these might be found necessary. There were serious limitations upon the study, chiefly through lack or inaccessibility of needed data. From that available, a twenty per cent sample was randomly drawn from the 895 registrations made during the academic year of September 1, 1961 to August 31,1962. A count was made of the total correspondence population of the year to ascertain the numbers of completions, withdrawals and drop-outs for each of the ten courses then being offered. Otherwise the study was based on data drawn from the sample. The completion rate was found to be 32.2 per cent, low when compared to a gross completion rate of nearly sixty per cent found for the member institutions of the National University Extension Association in a survey in 1956. Five of the ten courses had a completion rate of twenty-five per cent or less, while the highest was forty-six per cent. Over seventy per cent of the registrants were in the Faculty of Education, with about twenty per cent in the Faculty of Arts. These students were in their First to Fifth year of university study, with the majority being in the Third. The completion rate was lowest for the Second year students and increased somewhat with each subsequent year. Of those who were new at the University, barely a quarter finished. Over half the registrants stated their previous session had been a summer session, and just under a quarter stated a winter session. The completion rate for both was approximately thirty-two per cent. Those who registered within six months of a previous session were found to achieve a better completion rate than those who had been away longer. This reversed entirely for those who had been a-way more than six years, all who returned after a longer time finishing successfully. The majority of registrations took place between August and November, with the best completion rate for those in September. These fall registrants also showed a tendency to finish in a shorter time than those who registered in the winter months. In a distribution for the length of time taken, two peaks were found, a greater one for those finishing under a year, a lesser one for those finishing before the two-year time limit. Time taken appeared to make little difference to grades, except for a small drop for those who took longest. Men and women made approximately the same grades, but in general the women took considerably longer. The women achieved the higher completion rate, 34.6 per cent, to 26.2 per cent for the men. The correspondence courses went out to students in each one of the Census divisions of the province. Forty-two per cent resided in the heavily populated Vancouver and lower mainland area, and it was noted these had a low completion rate. Numbers in other areas were too small to give reliable estimates, but the tendency was a rough approximation of the proportion of the population in each area. The main conclusion was that the correspondence service is not up to the high standards being established for the rest of the university, though the quality of instructor is there and also the need. Suggestions for further studies and improvements were made. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Classical management theory holds that an individual within a complex organization should receive orders from only one superior; thereby providing the worker with unity of command. While functional specialization within large organizations prevents the explicit application of the unity of command principle, current organizational theory recognizes the merit of the basic concept. The British Columbia Public Schools Act divides administrative functions above teachers between the Department of Education and local Boards of School Trustees. The Department is given complete authority for classification of teachers for certification, for curriculum content and textbooks, for work methods within the classroom, and for supervision and evaluation of teachers. The local Board is given complete authority for selection, hiring, promotion, assignment, and termination of teachers. This division of authority between the Department of Education and Boards of School Trustees violates the principle of unity of command; and produces fragmentation of authority in the administration of teachers and their employment. It was hypothesized that the degree to which a teacher recognized this fragmentation of authority would be directly related to the innovativeness of the teacher; and that job satisfaction would be inversely related to the recognition of authority fragmentation. Those teachers who are more innovative in their teaching methods should encounter the dichotomy in the process of obtaining authorization/equipment for novel teaching techniques. When the authority fragmentation thwarts the teacher's innovative efforts, job satisfaction should suffer. A teacher who is not innovative should have less opportunity to encounter the authority dichotomy, and should therefore feel greater job satisfaction. A questionnaire was designed to measure the degree to which teachers recognize authority fragmentation, the innovativeness of the teacher, and job satisfaction felt by the teacher. The questionnaire was validated using a panel who completed the form and were interviewed for their impressions of the items, and through a pilot mail survey. The questionnaire was then mailed to a random sample of B.C. school teachers. 121 useable responses were obtained from a total sample of 508 subjects. Item analysis was performed on completed questionnaires to detect set responses, and to establish construct validity. The items in the job satisfaction section of the form were factor analyzed to determine the number of satisfaction dimensions tapped by the instrument. The results of the questionnaires were scored to produce one score for innovativeness, five scores for recognition of authority fragmentation (one score for each dimension isolated), and five scores for job satisfaction (one score for each dimension of satisfaction isolated). Linear regression analysis was performed between innovation scores and authority fragmentation scores; and between authority fragmentation scores and job satisfaction scores. Regression analysis was also performed between job satisfaction and innovativeness directly to check for contradiction of the hypothesized mediating function of perception of authority conflict. Hotelling's T² statistic and t-tests were performed on job satisfaction scores when S's were sorted into subsets above and below the sample mean on both innovation and one authority fragmentation dimension at a time. Statistically significant correlations (p≤0.05) were found between innovativeness and four of the five dimensions of authority fragmentation, supporting the first stage of the hypothesis. Three of the twenty-five pairs of authority fragmentation dimensions and job satisfaction dimensions showed significant correlations, T-tests did not reveal significant differences between satisfaction scores when S's were sorted on innovation and authority fragmentation scores. The second stage of the hypothesis was not supported. The scatter of points around the regression line was large in each significant correlation. While the second stage of the hypothesis was not statistically supported, suggestive evidence was found which warrants further research. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to determine factors essential to the effective promotion of public school adult education in a suburban Canadian community. The city of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia was chosen. A map of the city was divided into block areas, and a twenty per cent random sample was used to examine several aspects of the problem. Four areas of study were identified: 1. the nature of the community 2. participation in adult education 3. subject area interest 4. patterns of mass media use. In a sample block the first and the fifth house was selected and the adult who answered the door at each was interviewed for a total of 112 respondents. The structured interview technique was employed to gather data from respondents. The hypothesis tested in this study was that no significant difference exists between males and females or between respondents living in urban, service and rural land zones and the following characteristics: 1. marital status 2. employment 3. adult kinship in home 4. social participation 5. participation in adult education 6. interest in adult education 7. patterns of media utilization. The distributions within the groups were tested for significant differences using either the chi-square or the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test while linear relationships were indicated by frequency distributions. From the findings it appears that Port Coquitlam is a very homogeneous community. Most occupations are at the level of skilled and semi-skilled work and the social participation of respondents is low. Except for employment status, no statistically significant difference was found to exist between the factors studied for males and females and no statistically significant differences for the three residential pairs. The participation of respondents in adult education is low and mainly in the area of job-oriented and leisure-time classes. The stated interests of respondents indicate that participation will likely continue to be focused in these subject areas. Therefore, job-oriented and leisure-time courses offerred in Port Coquitlam should have a particular appeal for residents. Patterns of communication indicate that many more women than men receive door-to-door communications. The most frequently listened to radio stations were CKNW--a metropolitan station--and CJJC--located in a rural area. Most respondents view Canadian television stations and more of them subscribe to the local weekly newspaper than to either of the metropolitan dailies. If the use of media outlets listed here were utilized by the adult administrator communications would have the best chance of reaching Port Coquitlam residents. Areas suggested for further research include: more extensive investigation of the community to verify the apparent homogeneity of the population; investigation of how influence operates in this community; and continuing investigation of changing patterns of interest and participation in adult education so that communications can be properly addressed. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

Fundamental assumptions concerning the cognitive characteristics of gifted students in special education were presented. Prerequisites for operationalising them were extrapolated. The importance of clear parallels between identification and programming in gifted education, and of the role of informal and formal indicators was discussed. Guilford's Structure of Intellect model (1967) was examined in relation to the identification of cognitive ability. Achievement, measured by the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS), and aptitude, as measured by the Structure of Intellect (SOI) Learning Abilities Test, identified differences between students who had been nominated to participate in an enrichment program. There were some who were also identified by the resource teachers as being gifted. Subjects were 100 students from grades three, five and, eight previously nominated for the program. Sixty were selected to participate in the program, and nineteen were identified as being gifted. The groups were age and gender balanced. The students were given the CTBS as part of the district's annual testing program. The SOI was given at the start of the enrichment program, at the end of the twelve-week program and at the end of the academic year. Analysis of variance and multiple regression analyses suggested significant relationships existed between various dimensions of achievement and aptitude, and that the treatment group differed significantly from the control group in aptitude. The gifted differed from the non-gifted in achievement (CTBS). Transformational ability on the SOI distinguished giftedness which supported Guilford's hypothesis of gifted ability. Teacher ratings of the objectives of the enrichment program were not predicted by either aptitude or achievement scores. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that lower-level abilities were enhanced the most in the treatment group. Age contributed significantly to aptitude dimensions indicating non-school, or developmental factors were intertwined in the relationships. Findings were discussed and implications for subsequent research with the SOI in examining cognitive style in learning, and for both instruments use in special education identification programs were drawn. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to examine the routine existence of the Consumer Education course within the Vancouver School District and to understand how micro, or school level influences contribute to changes in school subjects which have been mandated at the macro, or provincial level. A target population of 41 Vancouver Consumer Education teachers was identified, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 of these teachers. Conclusions: Information obtained from these interviews concludes that the course-as-practiced differs significantly from the course-as-planned. This study concluded that the reinterpretation of the course is a result of two factors: 1. School-based support for the course varies from school to school. Generally, east side schools exhibit a higher level of support for the course than in the west side schools. 2. Ministry guidelines for the course do not offer clear course expectations and standards. Recommendations: Two recommendations were reached about the Consumer Education course: 1. Revision of Ministry guidelines is needed. The current state of the course is affected by the lack of direction given to this course. Province-wide expectations and standards should be clearly expressed, and methods to assess the degree of compliance need to be instituted. 2. The course would benefit from school-based support, in particular, establishment of a subject- constituency which would promote and protect the course. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate